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If the role of a great father is to prepare his son to live, then the role of the son is to prepare his father for death.
How do we prepare ourselves and our fathers for their death? For most of us, it is inevitable that our fathers will die before us. What can we do to help them on that journey?
In these two short films, Andy McMenemy shares the intimate story of how he helped his father, even as he resisted, and his family prepares for his death. He shares the profoundly moving final moments with his father and how he was able to let him go.
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He was the ultimate man’s man. He was our hero. And yet I saw him diminished, I saw him cry like a baby. But he would not accept help. He found it very difficult to accept help.
He wanted to dress himself. I watched him take four and a half hours to get himself dressed, his dignity intact.
I leaned down and kissed his forehead.
“Dad, it’s OK, we are here. It’s OK, you can let it go.”
Andy helps his father prepare for his death.
Marathon from David Taylor on Vimeo.
Andy shares his final moments.
Visiting Hour from David Taylor on Vimeo.
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Photo: Screenshot